


What secrets you keep... (I forgive you)

by charons_boat



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band), The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Cute boys, Family Dinners, Gang AU, He's cute, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Near Death Situations, Open Ending, SHOTARO is mentioned, ambiguous ending, being robbed, brief gang activities mentioned, brief mentions of nct members - Freeform, but he doesn't know he's dad-ing gang members at the time, ceo!wooseok, fear of being abandoned kind of, fixing broken relationships uwu, florist!sunwoo, flower shop au, flwoer delivery app??, gangleader!wooseok, intimidating receptionist, oh yeah moonbae are also mentioned, owning a business, panic buttons, righthandman!new, sunnyu are brothers, sunwoo is like the gang dad, suprises, wooseok's mother loves sunwoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:46:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26723122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charons_boat/pseuds/charons_boat
Summary: Everyone has a few secrets, right? The difference is, most are harmless.
Relationships: Jung Wooseok & Choi Chanhee | New, Kim Sunwoo & Choi Chanhee | New, Kim Sunwoo/Jung Wooseok
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Whitequeent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whitequeent/gifts).



> hi i hope u like it thank trisha for giving me sunwooseok prompts forever ago give my ults some luv,,

"Park Hyejoo doesn't work here." The woman behind the counter eyes me with suspicion, her eyes just as cold as her voice.

"This is the address I was given; I made sure to check when I arrived because, well… it didn't quite look like I expected. Are you sure?" The receptionist sighs heavily and clicks around on her computer a few times before typing rapidly. She puffs out an annoyed breath and rolls her eyes, glaring at me once more.

"I'm sure, sir. I just pulled up the list of employees, and Park Hyejoo is not on this list." I furrow my brows and pull my phone back out, checking the address I'd put into my GPS. I show the screen to the cold woman behind the desk.

"This is the address I was told to deliver the flowers to. The recipient is Park Hyejoo. I was told by her girlfriend that she wasn't feeling well today, hence the flowers." The receptionist clicks her tongue and lays her hand on the phone at her side.

"Yes, that is the address you're currently at," the receptionist tells me, her voice dry and unamused. "Go sit on one of the couches while I make a phone call, please." I put my phone back in my pocket and walk away, thanking her quietly as I sit back down on one of the couches I'd spent a good twenty minutes fidgeting on before I got the courage to talk to the intimidating woman.

From the inside, the converted warehouse really does look like an office building with all its dark tiled floors and contrasting slightly off-white walls. The couches really aren't very comfortable, though I suppose that maybe it's because I'm used to worn couches with cushions so soft that you sink into them as opposed to the low, modern-style black and white couches littering the lobby. The lobby is fairly empty, surprisingly, only a few well-dressed men and women occupying the other dozen couches; an intern or assistant stands behind or to the side of each person. I'd felt underdressed in my cheap slacks and white button-up when I first walked in, and I still do as I sit on the uncomfortable couch. I'd forgotten to unroll my sleeves when I left the store, but I _had_ remembered to take off my apron, so at least I didn't look like some poor baker.

The receptionist’s long fingernails click against buttons, and her icy voice interrupts the quiet of the lobby. People walk around behind in the desk, in a part of the building that looks to be slightly darker than the front of the lobby. The white cushion really doesn't have much give. I sit facing the desk so I won't be surprised by anyone coming to talk to me: I'd always reacted rather violently to surprises, and I didn't think it would do to punch someone in this place.

After a few more minutes of blank staring alternately at the clock on the wall and the fake plant in the corner, an elevator dings quietly and a man walks out. Even when he's so far away, all the way at the back of the lobby, I can tell he's both tall and handsome. His face is exposed by long black hair swept back and to the sides, and as he comes closer and closer I can see more and more of his face. He's got big, dark eyes under dark eyebrows that are straight and sharp. It feels almost like the gorgeous man's gaze has me pinned to the couch, though he takes a moment to look down at the bouquet before looking back at me. The black turtleneck he's wearing fits him like a second skin and has some writing on it in white, though I can't make out what it says because it's partially obscured by the dark trenchcoat he's got on over it. When he stands only a few feet away, I notice a silver hoop in his right ear. His face stays impassive as I stand to greet him. The handsome man says nothing, and I find myself unable to speak either, so we both stand in silence as we stare at the other.

"Park Hyejoo does not work here. You must have the wrong address," he says suddenly. His voice is smooth, verging on deep, and there's a razor-sharp edge of a threat to his words.

"The receptionist said I was at the right place when I showed her the address I'd been given," I say quietly. It feels dangerous to speak any louder than this man had.

"You must have made a mistake when you first wrote it down, then, because I assure you that I know every employee, and Park Hyejoo is not one of them. Additionally, if she were unwell, I would not have allowed her to come into work." His suggestion makes sense, though I hope desperately that I hadn't made such a simple mistake. He stares as I pull my phone back out, and I check the address in my notes app. After a moment, I realize that the address in my memos is slightly different than the one I'd put into the GPS. I groan and look towards the ceiling, trying to figure out how long it's going to take to get to the correct address: it's on the opposite side of the city, and I quietly curse the fact that the street names are all so similar in this city.

"You were right. I put the address into my GPS wrong," I say quietly, looking back at the handsome man in his tight black jeans as I drag a hand down my face. He stares at the bouquet in my hands as I speak. "I should get going so I'm not late. I'm so sorry for wasting your time with this."

"You can't waste my time if I had nothing else to do anyway." I'm not quite convinced, but I accept it regardless. He holds out a hand, and I shake it once I have my phone in my pocket and the bouquet in my left hand. "My name is Wooseok. Do you have a business card?" I give him a puzzled look until he gestures to the flowers.

"Oh, yes! Hold on, I should have a few in my wallet, just give me a moment to…" Wooseok lets go of my hand, and I pull my wallet out after a bit of struggling. It's a bit difficult to hold the bouquet and find the cards in my wallet at the same time. After a moment, I hand him a tan card with information about the flower shop on it. "My name is on the card."

"Kim Sunwoo?" He raises his brow as he asks the question, and I nod. He squints at part of the card and mutters something about the address being a dangerous place before sliding it into his pocket. "I didn't expect to meet the owner of a flower shop today; I'll have to order some flowers soon. It's been a pleasure, Sunwoo." I blush lightly and smile as brightly as I can, ignoring the goosebumps on my arms.

"I've also got an app for the store if you don't have the time to come in person. The app is on the back of the card, and there's a coupon too," I tell him. "It's actually easier for me that way, so I don't accidentally put in the wrong address like I did today." Wooseok smiles slightly at the joke. "It shouldn't take up very much space on your phone, either. My friend helped me make it, and he was pretty proud of the fact that he was able to keep it on the smaller side. We haven't had many issues, and the few we *have* had, Kevin's been able to fix. But, uhm, you can use the coupon on the back, and-- ah! Sorry, I just remembered that I'm on the clock! I really need to go, I'm so sorry. It was nice meeting you!" I turn and hurry out the door; my heart is still racing when I buckle myself into the car. I wonder for a moment who he wants to buy flowers for, and then shake the thought from my head because it's not really my business.

Hyejoo is excited and thanks me profusely when I finally deliver the flowers, even though they're almost an hour late because of the traffic and the address mix-up. Traffic on the way back to the store is almost nonexistent, and soon enough, the store is open again and I've got my apron on once more as I start to rearrange some of the flowers. The rest of the day is fairly uneventful, and I spend most of my time thinking about the man from the strange office building.

The next day, I wake up to a new member on the app and an order. The username is fairly unoriginal, simply _jws_98_ , and the order isn't very specific. The note attached to the order only says that any flower with the meaning of being grateful to a parent should be included. I realize, once I have the flower stems wrapped in grass-patterned plastic and yellow string, that the order is from Wooseok; the address is different from the one I was at yesterday, so I assume it's either his house or his parents'. When I get to the part of the order explaining what he wants on the little card in the bouquet, I realize the address must be his mother's. Instead of ordering a card in the bouquet, he'd only requested that I tell his mother the flowers were from Wooseok. I smile at that because I hadn't taken the tall man for a mama's boy.

Wooseok's mother is a kindly old lady who refuses to let me leave her house without having a few of the cookies she'd made earlier. The entire time I'm in her home, she thanks me profusely and gives me hugs. Her frail hands shake slightly as she sets them in one of her many vases, and she nearly cries but settles with hugging me as tightly as she can when I tell her that most of the flowers hold the meaning of being thankful. She insists that I tell Wooseok to go home more often so he can have cookies as well, and I nod and promise that I'll tell him if I see him again. I leave the warm home feeling lighter than I'd been in a while, and I silently thank Wooseok for ordering flowers.

It became routine for the next few weeks for Wooseok to order more flowers for his mother, and after the second time (and many attempts to give him a refund, because I was sure he'd ordered the same thing by mistake) he was always at her door to receive the flowers. He'd lean against the doorframe and chat with me until his mother scolded us and forced us to come inside and have cookies. When Wooseok asked about how business was going, he was surprised to learn that I was successful enough to pay for my own apartment.

It's a routine I come to enjoy and rely on immensely.

* * *

  
Most of the time, we just sit in Wooseok's mother's living room after I deliver orders and chat until I get another order and have to leave. Today, though, his mother gives him an empty vase and glances at me before leaving the room. He sighs, blushing heavily, and nods. Wooseok hesitates for a good half a minute, biting his lip as he thinks, before finally turning to me.

"Uhm, Sunwoo… can you bring over an extra flower with the next order?" His voice is little more than an embarrassed mumble, and I smile kindly at him.

"Sure thing. What kind do you want?" He hums softly, before shrugging.

"Surprise me," he suggests. The first flower to come to my mind makes me blush, and I smile at him once more. Before I can say anything more, my phone dings, and I have to leave to go make another order. Wooseok's mother gathers me up in a hug before hugging her son as well and sending us both out the door. Wooseok squeezes my hand and smiles before climbing into his car and driving away, with me following a minute later.

His next order comes the day after, and I bring him a hyacinthe. He begs me to tell him what it is and what it means, but I refuse because I'm too embarrassed to tell him. Every day for a week and a half afterward, he comes into the store and buys another, simply asking for "the same flower you gave me last time." I start refusing to charge him for it, and he asks if instead, I'll accept his phone number in payment: I do with a blush on my cheeks and a grin on my lips. When he pulls out two phones, I send him a quizzical look.

"One is just for work," he explains as he quickly saves my number, making sure I can't see what he puts for my name. Once he leaves with his hyacinthe, I change his name in my phone from _Wooseokie_ to _Mama's Boy Seokie_. It's only later, as I'm closing up shop, that I realize he must have given me his personal number if the other phone had been for work. The thought brings a dark blush to my cheeks again, which only darkens when I wonder how many people have his personal number: it's probably not a whole lot of people. I bite my lip as I take a selfie in front of the roses, and I feel vaguely embarrassed as I realize that even in the low light my blush is visible.

I drive home feeling nervous, wondering if Wooseok is going to text me. As I cook some ramen on my small stovetop, I think about when I last felt like this: it was in high school I think, back when I had a crush on my brother's friend Jacob. I hadn't known at the time that Jacob and Kevin were dating (still are actually, and very happy) but I'd always enjoyed the anticipation of whether Jacob would text me or not. It's when I'm sitting on the couch watching TV that he texts me asking for a selfie to put at my contact picture. I send him a few, including the one in front of the roses. He sent a couple back. The first one nearly gave me a heart attack, simply because he looked way better than anyone had the right to be. With his hair pushed back, I could see his raised eyebrow and what I could've sworn was a piercing. I'm not sure how I missed it earlier. I set the other one as his contact picture because it really _does_ make my heart clench. He looks overly handsome in the first one, but in the second, he looks soft and kind: I can his black hoodie, almost seeming to drown him, and I vaguely want to wear it myself; he looks playfully upset, pouting like that while poking his cheek. I scream into a pillow when he sends me screenshots of his home and lockscreens because they're the two pictures of me that he hadn't used for my contact: he used the one of me blushing in front of the roses as his home screen.

We talk for hours that night, far later into the day than I would've usually stayed up considering I've still got to work tomorrow. We talk about the most random things, like Marvel and Star Wars (because apparently, Wooseok is a massive nerd and always finds time for movies or manga). It doesn't take long to realize that despite coming off as cold and intimidating, Wooseok is really just an overgrown puppy.

He never tells me exactly what he does in that weird, warehouse office of his, just that it keeps him busy because he's the CEO. He does tell me that he runs the place with an old friend by the name of New. His friend was someone he trusted with his life, apparently, and had been at the company for a couple of years before Wooseok took over from his father. Though we don't talk about our family a lot, I do tell him about the brother I'd grown apart from during highschool. _It's been seven years and I really don't have any idea what he's doing or even where he is, and it almost feels too late to try and fix our relationship._ That's what I told Wooseok, and he was the one who encouraged me to try anyway.

To my surprise, it works. It was really awkward at first, and I struggled constantly to find things to say to him. I never ask my brother _why_ he suddenly cut himself off because I'm not sure that I'll be able to take the truth, but Chanhee helps it by asking about my life. Slowly, I begin to tell him about the flower shop I'd opened, and then about Wooseok-- though I always kept it vague because I was embarrassed and didn't want him stalking Wooseok on any social media he might have. Chanhee, surprisingly, is excited for me and pushes me to confess: I compromise by inviting Wooseok to hang out at my apartment. We mostly just eat the meals I cook when he comes over and watch movies, but it's nice and comfortable. It's through this that I found out how happy Wooseok looks when he eats, and how he makes the cutest noises as he eats. He sounds so… I don't know. Cute, maybe, or happy.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been strange, setting up a family dinner for the express purpose of introducing my parents and half-brother to my somewhat boyfriend. I hadn't been to a family dinner in years, not since I moved out and got busy with the flower shop, so calling my mother and awkwardly explaining the reason for wanting to come to the family dinner in the first place had been… embarrassing, to say the least. It was probably made worse by the fact that Wooseok would be the first person I'd ever brought home to meet my parents; from the moment I stepped into the house, Chanhee was teasing me about the entire thing. I could already tell that he was never going to let me forget this.

By the time our doorbell rang, my cheeks were dusted pink with embarrassment. Opening the door though? I think I died on the spot; I guess he hadn't been joking when he said he wanted to impress my family. I stay at the front door only long enough to let him in and promptly proceed to run away to the dining room, where Chanhee and my mother are setting up the dining table. I can hear the faint murmur of Wooseok talking to my father, and my face is so hot that I try fanning myself with my hand. Chanhee laughs at me--of course he does--and asks what's wrong. The question itself was innocent enough, but I could clearly hear the edge of teasing in his voice. I glare at him and he only laughs more.

"Well, if you _must_ know, Wooseok is dressed to kill! I think I might die if you don't get me out of here! Sometimes I hate him. Like now, when he decides to make me look like a potato compared to him," I mutter, glaring down at my old jeans and quickly-ironed button-up.

"Oh, shut up," Chanhee sighs, clucking his tongue at me. "You look great, especially with your hair re-dyed. Besides that, though, you aren't the one who's supposed to be impressing your boyfriend's parents." I sigh at that and lean against the counter between the kitchen and the dining room.

"I've met his mom. She's so nice, and I swear she makes the best cookies I've ever tasted-- no offense, Mom." She just laughs and shakes her head. It's widely known in my family that my mother can't make desserts. "Seriously though, she calls me her second son and makes me eat _at least_ seven cookies. I think I might've gained like three pounds since meeting her. She's tiny but tenacious," I mutter. Chanhee just laughs and leaves the room, giving the short explanation of needing to use the bathroom. Mom calls Dad and Wooseok into the dining room; my parents sit opposite me, and Wooseok takes the seat on my left.

"So, how'd you two meet," my father asks suddenly. My mother smacks his arm lightly and says we ought to wait for Chanhee, but I tell her that I'd already told him. Wooseok just laughs for a few seconds before explaining.

"He tried to deliver a surprise bouquet to the wrong address: mine. The receptionist called me down to the lobby 'cause she thought he was trying to rob us or something. She's always been the suspicious kind." My parents can't help but laugh, and I understand why; me, posing a threat of robbery? That's like saying that Chanhee is a mob boss.

"How is your flower store going, sweetie," my mother asks. My father nods approvingly when I tell them I haven't got any financial issues, and my mother lets out a relieved sigh; I know they've both been worried that my dream might fail me.

When Chanhee finally returns, he takes three steps into the room before bursting into laughter. Wooseok seems very confused when he looks up at my brother. We all stare at him in confusion until he sits down and stares at me, smirking devilishly.

"You should've told me that you're dating my boss, Sunnie!"

When I catch up, I nearly choke on my spit. "Wait, you work with Wooseok? Wooseok, my brother works for you? Hold on a second--!"

"Yeah, I've worked for his company since junior year," Chanhee says easily.

"Wait, you never told me you had a brother," Wooseok exclaims. Chanhee shrugs in response.

"It never really came up. Besides, I didn't really want anyone in the company to know about my family life. You know how our business can get." Wooseok nods before his eyebrows furrow again.

"But you've got different last names?" My mother nods and sighs.

"They've got different fathers. This," she explains, pointing at my dad, "is Sunwoo's father. Chanhee's father…" she trails off with another sigh.

"He went to prison for gang-related crimes," Chanhee says bluntly. Wooseok nearly chokes on the water he'd just drank as my mother cut a look at Chanhee, but he just shrugs. "We should start eating before Wooseok chokes to death and lets his food go cold before he can even eat it." He laughs at the murderous glare Wooseok shoots him and eats a spoonful of rice. Everyone else follows suit, and Chanhee points his spoon at me once his mouth is empty of food. "I'm just telling you now, Sunnie, that I'm never letting this go." The rest of the dinner is fairly uneventful as long as you ignore Wooseok's realization that he hadn't properly asked me out and proceeded to do so in the middle of his first family dinner with my parents and brother. Chanhee laughed his head off at both of our blushes, and I could tell that my mother was trying not to cry.

Eventually, my mother let us all go back to our houses. On the drive to my apartment, Wooseok hums quietly. He asks if Chanhee has his own apartment like I did, and I nod. He'd moved out before me, almost as soon as he graduated high school, and I still hadn't been to his apartment yet. We both laughed about how much of a coincidence it was that Chanhee worked for him, and we fell asleep while _Attack on Titan_ played quietly on my TV.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mentions/implication of. torture.  
> mentions of fighting/shouting
> 
> also catch my humph! reference

Wooseok had been asking me for the past few weeks if I could bring him more flowers for the vase in his office, but I'd been really busy with orders recently. Sometimes I almost regretted being the only full-time employee, because it meant that I had to deal with most of the busiest days by myself. I'd gotten used to it though, because at first no one had been available for full-time, and now I just preferred being alone most of the day.

As I walk through the office building and into the elevator, I feel strangely nervous. Wooseok had already told me I could just walk into his office whenever I had time to get the vase, but I'm still nervous about seeing where he works in person. I'd expected it to be a little louder and busier than the lobby downstairs, but I hadn't expected to hear yelling as soon as I stepped out of the elevator. The angry voice sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it. There's a small crowd in front of the elevator, but none of them are facing it. A few look back as it dings and begin to snicker when they see me. I ask where Wooseok's office is, and to my surprise, I'm pointed in the direction of the noise. Some of the crowd tries to approach me or grab me as I walk through them, but I push them away and keep walking.

I hadn't expected to see my boyfriend yelling at my brother when I took my lunch break ten minutes ago, but that's apparently what's destined to happen. I'm not sure what Wooseok is yelling about, but he keeps saying something about failure and a mole. Chanhee, unexpectedly, isn't fighting back. Wooseok had clearly been running his fingers through his hair because it is a _mess_. Wooseok looks like he's _really_ pissed off, not the fake angry I'd seen from him when he was teasing me. I tentatively walk closer, and the moment the two of them notice me, they freeze and their faces go stark white. I put my hand on Wooseok's shoulder and pull him down a little, pressing a kiss to his cheek. When I see his name on the door behind him, I pull my hand away and walk through the door. The vase is sitting on the corner of his desk, already empty of flowers. A glance at the papers scattered over his desk gives me no clarity on what kind of business they do, and I walk back out.

Wooseok is still frozen, though now his cheeks and ears are bright red. I giggle and kiss him again, and he blinks slowly. Some of the people in the crowd try to grab me again as I walk through, and I nearly break the vase when someone grabs my butt. I turn and push the guy with a scowl and take the stairs down to the first floor, smiling to myself the entire way because I'm pretty sure I heard Wooseok yelling at the crowd before the door fell shut.

* * *

  
 _Wooseok's POV_  
The moment Sunwoo is through the door to the stairs, I tell the crowd that he's off-limits. I pull the one he'd pushed out of the crowd and take him to the end of the hall. Chanhee follows me into the room and glances at me.

"What do you wanna do, Seok?" I scowl.

"They're not allowed to flirt with him or grab him like that. They should know that, _especially_ considering he's my boyfriend. Don't you think," I ask, directing the question at the man from the crowd. He nods quickly, clearly terrified, and I smile. "I think the easiest way to get my message across is to spare no expense and show no mercy. What do you think, Chanhee?" Sunwoo's brother smiles and nods, cracking his knuckles.

"I agree entirely. I'll treat him like the mole we need to catch." Chanhee's pink hair doesn't really fit in with the inherently violent nature of the room, but then again Chanhee doesn't really look like he belongs here. Chanhee takes the man's jacket and pulls out a small phone. His expression sours before growing cruelly pleased. He shows the phone to me with a smirk. "Seems we already found the mole." He laughs as the man begins to cry, and I chain him to the wall.

"Make sure he can't run and say anything," I tell the roset. He nods, and I leave the room. The pained noises quickly morph into screams and are silenced when I close the door. Soundproofing really is incredible these days.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mentions of alcohol, drunk persons, blood, being stabbed, near-death experiences. and cussing idk if I missed that in any of the other chapters (if you think I should tag something either in the note like this or in the fic tags, pls let me know!)

It's funny, the way that since that first visit to Wooseok's office to grab his vase, the people who work for him have called me. At first, I thought it'd be more of the same stuff the crowd had tried to do to me, but it never is. Instead, it's situations like this one. I can hear someone in the background asking why the caller has his phone out, and the caller mutters my name and some other words I can't make out.

"Hello?" It's near the end of the night, and I'd just been preparing to go home.

"Oh, hey! Uh, Wooseok said that we gotta be nice to you and also that we needed your approval before we did anything." The man on the phone sounds very vaguely drunk, though perhaps he simply holds his alcohol better than expected. He does giggle constantly throughout the phone call, though.

"You sound drunk, sir. Are you drunk? What are you trying to do?"

"Oh, well, my name's Jeno and Jaemin--my name isn't Jeno and Jaemin, _I'm_ Jeno and my _friend_ Jaemin, that's what I meant--well, anyways, Jaemin dared me to getta tattoo. But I gotta make sure it's okay with you first or the boss might get mad." Jeno suddenly sounds a lot more drunk. The alcohol must be catching up with him.

"Jeno, is there anyone there with you besides Jaemin? Anyone who isn't drunk, I mean."

"Oh, yeah, the new guy, uh, Sho…. I don't remember. Hey, new guy! Catch!" There's a squeak of surprise and a lot of fumbling, and suddenly there's a different voice on the other end of the phone.

"Uh, hi. I'm Shotaro. It's nice to meet you, sir." He sounds young.

"Hello! I'm Sunwoo. You don't have to call me sir, by the way. Are you old enough to drive," I ask. There's a soft noise of affirmation, and I continue. "Good. I think you should probably drive them home. Or, if you don't know where they live and they can't tell you, then google the address of _Lucky Clover Florist_ and bring them here. I'll put the key under the doormat at the back, and you can put them in the office. I've got a couch and a snack stash in there. Did you get that?" I only ask because I can hear faint scribbling from the other end.

"Yes, sir! Thank you! Uhm, we'll get going now, thank you for the help, I'll make sure they don't cause a mess in your store, sir. Goodbye!" Shotaro hangs up before I can tell him not to call me sir again, and I sigh. Letting Wooseok's employees stay the night in the office has become kind of normal. Wooseok convinced me to wear steel-toed shoes in case I dropped one of the heavy pots I sell for flowers, and there are panic buttons all around the store now: they're hidden of course, but they're still there. Apparently, I live in a dangerous part of town. I'm not quite sure I believe it because I've never heard of anything bad happening in the area, but it's always been better to be safe rather than sorry.

* * *

  
Most of the time, when I press one of the many panic buttons, it's on accident. Regardless of the dozens of times I've accidentally bumped into one while moving around or tripped and accidentally pressed one, Wooseok always facetimes me immediately to make sure I'm okay.

He doesn't call immediately this time. It figures, with my luck, that the one time I actually press one of his emergency panic buttons on purpose, he doesn't call immediately. It had been a robbery: someone had come into my store, someone I'd never met before, and tried to rob me. He'd stabbed me and run without any money when he heard sirens outside, though the police were going somewhere else.

Being stabbed hurts. It kind of burns, actually. I laugh weakly at the sudden thought that perhaps he'd poisoned his knife because seriously, who poisons a knife just for a robbery? That hurts too, though, and I stop with a groan and press my hand against the knife wound again. I can't see anything from behind the counter the register sits on, but it's one of the only ones low to the ground. The colors all bleed together as I cry. I want to go to sleep. Maybe it won't hurt if I go to sleep. Wooseok would tell me not to go to sleep though, I'm sure he would.

Distantly, I can hear a phone ringing. The bright screen of my phone is so blurry that I knock it further away on my first attempt to grab it. Wooseok's voice rings through the speaker, all crackly and weird. When I bring my phone closer to my face, I can see that the screen is broken.

"Sunwoo? Is this another accident press or is it serious?" He sounds like he's a thousand miles away. His voice is kind of strained, and I wonder momentarily what he's doing. That moment stretches on and on until he speaks again. "Sunnie? Do you need me to come help you? Please answer!" I try to flip it up so that he'll be able to see more than just the ceiling, but my hands are slick with blood and doing anything is difficult. The phone clatters so that it's face-down. When I do get it up again, there's blood smeared over the front camera.

"Seokie? Can you… come help, please?" I'm not sure whether it's just my imagination, but I think I sound a little wheezy.

"Shit! Chanhee, take care of this, I need to--" The phone call cuts off and takes the muffled bang with it. I drop my phone again and curl in on myself, trying to make it stop hurting. It hurts when I press my hand against the wound, but it hurts more when I don't. My hands feel like they're burning hot against my skin-- or, wait, those aren't my hands.

"Sun? Sunnie! Look at me, please!" Wooseok sounds so scared that I can't help but open my eyes and look at him. He's been crying. He looks upset.

"Don't… be mad, Seokie… don't… blame… yourself…." It takes longer to form each word than the last. I hiss as he picks me up and carries me to the office: I only know where he takes me because I recognize the smell of lavender and hyacinthe in the room.

"Boss, what do you want me to do?"

"Shit! Uh, shit, I-- he's, he's hurt, we need--!" Wooseok keeps having trouble speaking. He sounds more emotional than I've ever witnessed.

"On it! I'll be back with Kevin and Jacob soon, sir!" The other person has heavy footsteps. Maybe that's only because he fully sprinted from the room. It must be a coincidence that Wooseok knows people named Kevin and Jacob too. Kevin is just a tech guy who likes random programming projects and last I heard, Jacob was opening a veterinary place. They've gotta be busy. It can't be the same people.

"Stay awake, Sun. You can't fall asleep, you gotta stay awake!" Wooseok is crying, but I crack a smile at his words. I gently squeeze his hands--he's got my left hand clasped between both of his--and let out a breathy laugh.

"Knew that… you'd… say…" I can't finish my sentence because it hurts too much. Wooseok keeps crying. He keeps saying _please_. It feels like forever before the heavy footsteps come back, except there are more feet now. The noise hurts my head.

"Wooseok, take his shirt off. It can't be on if we're going to get him fixed up right here!" That voice sounds familiar, except that I've never heard Jacob sound so stern or professional. The person who sounds like Jacob sounds worried too, which Jacob has never been. Wooseok fumbles with my shirt buttons and cries when he can't get them undone.

"Fuc-- get out of the way, dammit! If you're going to stay in the room, grab that chair and sit by his head. Stay out of the way, got it?" My boyfriend seems to obey immediately, which I don't expect. I've never heard anyone talk to Wooseok like that, but then again, I've never seen him cry either. Kevin must really scare him.

"I told you this part of town was dangerous," Wooseok whispers. It's the last thing I hear before I fall asleep.

* * *

  
I don't dream until I wake up. That part is what feels like the dream. Waking up next to Wooseok in what I can only assume is his bed is what feels like dreaming. Watching Wooseok slowly wake up, watching his face slowly lose its serenity to immense worry? _That's_ the part that feels like a dream.

The part where Wooseok tells me that he's the leader of a gang? That Chanhee, Jacob, and Kevin are too? When he tells me that Jeno and Jaemin and Shotaro and all the other "employees" who've been calling me to ask permission for stupid things are part of his gang? That's what feels like a dream.

**Author's Note:**

> im on twt @sunwooseok_ gimme love pls


End file.
